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Our Mission Continues
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Our Mission: To strengthen the unity of our people by engaging our common heritage in a spirit of inclusiveness, acceptance and tolerance
The population of Israel's southern region has grown dramatically over the last decade and a half. A large percentage of its newer residents are immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) who grew up with little or no Jewish education. Joining them are Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia whose history and traditions developed apart from the majority of the Jewish people. Other residents of this region, in spite of having been raised in Israel, are unfamiliar with much of their cultural and religious heritage; as adults they are seeking to recover the education that eluded them in their youth. Finally, the region is populated with well educated religious and secular residents of all ages with an ongoing thirst for Jewish knowledge and a love for Jewish culture.
The Yaacov Herzog Center for Jewish Studies is one of but a handful of post-secondary educational institutions serving Israel's south. Our mission is to provide outstanding Jewish educational and cultural activities to the wider community in an atmosphere of openness and tolerance. Our programs deepen the understanding and appreciation of Israelis for their own heritage, strengthen their identities both as Jews and as Israelis, enrich their lives, encourage community leadership and good citizenship, promote dialogue and pluralism, and build ties to Jews throughout the world.
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Program Areas
1. "Jewish Studies for Everyone" - Each year the The Yaacov Herzog Center offers dozens of educational programs to the general adult public. Our courses and seminars include Bible, Talmud, Midrash, Jewish History, Jewish Philosophy, modern Hebrew literature, and more.
2. In-Service Training for Israeli and for Overseas Teachers - The Yaacov Herzog Center annually offers Israeli teachers in-service training courses accredited by the Israel Ministry of Education to assist in their professional growth and development. We offer an assortment of Judaica courses to overseas educators visiting Israel, as well as in their local communities.
3. Youth Programs - Hundreds of young people participate in activities at The Yaacov Herzog Center in programs that both educate and cultivate responsible and active "citizens of the future" for the state of Israel and the Jewish people.
4. Jewish Education for Young Adults from Abroad - Since 2004, The Yaacov Herzog Center has operated a program called "Horizon" for college graduates who come for one year from the Former Soviet Union. These students live at The Yaacov Herzog Center and study Hebrew, Jewish history, the history of the state of Israel, and Judaism, take field trips throughout the country and volunteer in various educational or social welfare settings. Following the program, some remain in Israel, while others return to assume leadership positions in their communities.
5. The "Tzahali" Preparatory Academy for Religious Young Women - For the first time in Israel, a preparatory academy has been created to help religious women who have chosen to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The program emphasizes leadership values and skills and prepares the participants for life within a multi-cultural Jewish democratic society.
Links to Herzog Center Programs:
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Our Vision: To illuminate tomorrow with the wisdom of the past
The essence of education has always been the passing of knowledge and culture from one generation to the next. The challenge of education is to bridge the lessons of the past, the reality of the present, and the uncertainty of the future. In our era, this challenge holds special importance.
During the last century secularization and assimilation on the one hand, and the Holocaust on the other, contributed, each in its own way, to the breaking of cultural and physical ties among many Jews. These Jews, in Israel as well as in the diaspora, have lost the connection to their Jewish past and consequently to their Jewish future.
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The Yaacov Herzog Center for Jewish Studies is a bridge between the generations that preceded us, the Jewish people of today, and those yet to come. Our teachers and students look forward to the future without losing sight of the past. Here, the past illuminates the way forward, together with new knowledge and insights that help give meaning to our present.
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The New Campus: To fulfill our mission and to realize our vision, we require the expansion of the existing facilities
Together with the existing Yaacov Herzog Center and the neighboring yeshiva, the new facilities, consisting of a library and an auditorium with classrooms arranged around an inner plaza, create a new campus. The new campus will encourage additional enrollment from throughout the region. It will transform The Yaacov Herzog Center into an even more vital regional resource for Jewish studies, leadership programs, and outreach to Jews of all backgrounds.
 | | The Library, The Plaza and The Auditorium |
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